U.S. patent application number 13/269547 was filed with the patent office on 2013-04-11 for method and apparatus for power efficient user location profile determination in mobile devices.
The applicant listed for this patent is Ardalan Heshmati. Invention is credited to Ardalan Heshmati.
Application Number | 20130090134 13/269547 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 48042409 |
Filed Date | 2013-04-11 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130090134 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Heshmati; Ardalan |
April 11, 2013 |
Method and apparatus for power efficient user location profile
determination in mobile devices
Abstract
Systems and methods are disclosed for reducing power consumption
of a mobile device in determining locations by determining if the
mobile device is stationary; and if the mobile device is
stationary, determining if the mobile device is in a zone with a
known location and assign the known location as the location of the
mobile device without involving a position determination system in
the mobile device to reduce power consumption arising
therefrom.
Inventors: |
Heshmati; Ardalan;
(Saratoga, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Heshmati; Ardalan |
Saratoga |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
48042409 |
Appl. No.: |
13/269547 |
Filed: |
October 7, 2011 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
455/456.3 ;
455/456.1; 455/456.6 |
Current CPC
Class: |
Y02D 30/70 20200801;
H04W 52/0245 20130101; H04W 4/029 20180201; H04W 4/024 20180201;
H04W 52/0254 20130101; H04W 4/02 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
455/456.3 ;
455/456.1; 455/456.6 |
International
Class: |
H04W 52/02 20090101
H04W052/02; H04W 4/02 20090101 H04W004/02 |
Claims
1. A method for reducing power consumption of a mobile device in
determining locations, comprising: a. determining if the mobile
device is stationary; and b. if the mobile device is stationary,
determining if the mobile device is in a zone with a known location
and assigning the known location as the location of the mobile
device without activating a position determination system in the
mobile device to reduce power consumption arising from said
activation.
2. The method of claim 1, comprising updating a location associated
with the zone.
3. The method of claim 2, comprising performing the operations of
claim 1, and subsequently turning on a position determination
system in the mobile device and obtaining the location of the
mobile device and updating the location of the zone in a database
to obtain more accurate location fix for the zone.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining if the mobile
device is stationary comprises: a. receiving an observation from
one or more surrounding radio signals; b. forming a radio signature
based on the received radio signals; c. correlating a current epoch
signature with one or more prior epoch signatures; and d.
indicating the mobile device is stationary when a high epoch
signature correlation exists.
5. The method of claim 1, comprising adding a new zone to a
database.
6. The method of claim 5, comprising using a current radio
signature as the signature for the new zone.
7. The method of claim 5, comprising invoking position
determination system to produce location for the new zone.
8. The method of claim 1, comprising determining if a new radio
beacon is present in an existing zone entry and adding an entry in
a database to reflect newly detected radio beacon while in the
existing zone.
9. The method of claim 1, comprising capturing zone entry and exit
times to keep track of a total time spent in each zone, wherein the
total time is used to rank and assign priority to zones by total
time spend in each zone.
10. The method of claim 1, comprising using a frequency of zone
visit to rank and assign priority to zones.
11. The method of claim 1, comprising reducing power consumption by
reducing beacon observation rate when device is detected to be in a
zone or increasing beacon observation rate when device is detected
to be on the move to optimize zone detection response time for the
next zone entry.
12. The method of claim 1, comprising reducing power consumption by
reducing or increasing beacon observation rate base on an
accelerometer output indicating movement since a last beacon
observation.
13. The method of claim 1, wherein the zone location is used to
ensure locally relevant information for a user.
14. The method of claim 1, wherein the user location profile
consisting of the aggregate of the zone locations visited by the
user is used to ensure locally relevant information for a user
15. The method of claim 1, comprising using a frequency of visit, a
length of time spent in a predetermined zone, and a categorization
of the zone to prioritize search results in a database based on
proximity of search result locations to the zone.
16. The method of claim 1, comprising performing a web search based
on an aggregate of a user's location profile.
17. The method of claim 15, wherein the database is coupled to the
Internet to provide a web search engine and wherein web search
parameters comprise spending habit, locations frequented and time
of travel between locations.
18. A mobile device, comprising: a. a processor; b. a position
determination system coupled to the processor, wherein the position
determination system consumes power; c. means for determining if
the mobile device is stationary; and d. means for determining if
the mobile device is stationary and in a zone with a known
location, wherein the known location is assigned to the location of
the mobile device without activating the position determination
system, to reduce power consumption arising from said
activation.
19. The device of claim 18, comprising a search engine coupled to
the processor, wherein the search engine receives a frequency of
visit, a length of time spent in a predetermined zone, and a
categorization of the zone to prioritize search results based on
proximity of search result locations to the zone.
20. The device of claim 18, comprising an accelerometer coupled to
the processor and means for indicating movement since a last radio
beacon observation.
21. A method for reducing power consumption of a mobile device in
determining locations, comprising: a. determining if the mobile
device is stationary, including i. forming a radio signature based
on received radio signals from surrounding beacons; ii. correlating
a current epoch signature with one or more prior epoch signatures
to indicate the mobile device is stationary when correlation is
high; b. if the mobile device is stationary, determining if the
mobile device is in a predetermined zone by correlating the current
epoch signature with the radio signature of each predetermined
zone; and c. assigning the predetermined location of the zone as
the location of the mobile device without activating a position
determination system in the mobile device to reduce power
consumption arising from said activation.
22. The method of claim 21, comprising determining if a new radio
beacon is present in the existing zone entry and adding an entry in
a database to reflect newly detected radio beacon; indicating the
mobile device is in a new zone when no high correlation is found
between epoch signature and the radio signature of known zones and
adding a new zone in the database and assigning a current epoch
radio signature as a radio signature of the new zone and invoking
the position determination system to obtain the location of the
zone for storage in the database.
23. The method of claim 21, comprising activating a position
determination system in the mobile device periodically to obtain a
location of the mobile device in-between zones if the mobile device
is moving.
24. The method of claim 21, wherein the radio signature comprises
one or more radio characteristics including a signal to noise ratio
(SNR) of each beacon.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] The present invention pertains to a method and apparatus for
power efficient user location profile determination in mobile
devices.
[0002] Location Technologies such as Global Navigation Satellite
Systems (GNSS), which includes GPS and GLONASS, as well as ground
based systems such as those based on WIFI and cellular systems, are
more and more available in mobile devices including feature phones
and smart phones. The location functionality in these devices is
enabling a wide range of applications sometimes referred to as
location base services (LBS) or location enhanced applications.
Most LBS concepts evolve around activities as a function of
current/immediate location or manually entered address or location.
These concepts have good utility in less familiar locale, mostly
away from home. However, these LBS's have less utility in everyday
life of most people who tend to have the same routines.
SUMMARY
[0003] Systems and methods are disclosed for reducing power
consumption of a mobile device in determining locations by first
determining if the mobile device is stationary; and if the mobile
device is stationary, then determining if the mobile device is in a
zone with a known location, and if the latter is true, assigning
the known location as the location of the mobile device without
involving a position determination system in the mobile device,
thus reducing power consumption associated with the activation of
such a system.
[0004] Implementations of the above aspect may include one or more
of the following. The method includes updating a location
associated with the zone. The method can turn on or activate a
position determination system in the mobile device and obtain the
location of the mobile device and update the location of the zone
in a database. The determining of when the mobile device is
stationary can include receiving an observation from one or more
surrounding radio signals; forming a radio signature based on the
received radio signals; correlating a current epoch signature with
one or more prior epoch signatures; and indicating the mobile
device is stationary when a high epoch signature correlation
exists. A new zone location can be added to a database. A current
radio signature can be used as the signature for the new zone
location. The method can determine if a new radio beacon is present
in an existing zone entry and adding an entry in a database to
reflect newly located radio beacon. The method includes capturing
zone entry and exit times to keep track of a total time spent in
each zone, wherein the total time is used to rank and assign
priority to zones by total time spend in each zone. A frequency of
zone visit can be used to rank and assign priority to zones. The
method includes reducing power consumption by reducing beacon
observation rate when device is detected to be in a zone or
increasing beacon observation rate based on when device is detected
to be on the move to optimize zone detection response time for the
next zone entry. The method includes reducing power consumption by
reducing or increasing beacon observation rate base on an
accelerometer output indicating movement since a last beacon
observation. The zone location can be used to ensure locally
relevant information for a user based on his or her location
profile. A frequency of visit, a length of time spent in a
predetermined zone, and a categorization of the zone can be used to
prioritize search results based on proximity of search result
locations to the zone. The method includes performing a web search
based on an aggregate or a subset of a user's location profile
which includes all the zones visited by the user. The web search
parameters can include spending habit, locations frequented and
time of travel between locations.
[0005] In another aspect, a mobile device includes a processor; a
position determination system coupled to the processor, wherein the
position determination system consumes power; means for determining
if the mobile device is stationary; and means for determining if
the mobile device is stationary and in a zone with a known location
and if the latter is true assigning the known location as the
location of the mobile device without involving the position
determination system thus reducing power consumption associated
with the activation of such a system.
[0006] In yet another aspect, a method for reducing power
consumption of a mobile device in determining locations includes
determining if the mobile device is stationary, including receiving
an observation from one or more surrounding radio signals; forming
a radio signature based on the received radio signals; correlating
a current epoch signature with one or more prior epoch signatures;
and indicating that the mobile device is stationary when a high
epoch signature correlation exists. if the mobile device is
stationary, the method determines if the mobile device is in a zone
with a known location and assigns the known location as the
location of the mobile device without involving a position
determination system in the mobile device to reduce power
consumption associated with the activation of such a system. The
method then determines if a new radio beacon is present in an
existing zone entry and adding an entry in a database to reflect
newly detected radio beacon.
[0007] If mobile device is determined to be stationary, but not in
a known zone, the method activates the positioning system in the
mobile device, obtains the location of the mobile device and
therefore location of the new zone. A new zone entry is created to
capture its radio beacon signature and associated location.
[0008] In one embodiment, if the mobile device is moving, the
method activates the positioning system in the mobile device
periodically and obtains the location of the mobile device to
determine path of travel between zones.
[0009] The method can include capturing zone entry and exit times
to keep track of a total time spent in each zone, wherein the total
time is used to rank and assign priority to zones by total time
spend in each zone.
[0010] Advantages of the preferred embodiments may include one or
more of the following. The system supports location based
applications with a low power consumption, yet achieving accurate
knowledge of the user location profile. Location profile can
effectively be determined at minimal to no additional hardware cost
to the mobile device and minimal power consumption which, in the
preferred embodiment, is done by intelligently harvesting the
location profile. The system thus delivers location profile at
minimal power consumption by avoiding frequent invocation of
position determination functions and in fact only minimally
invoking them. In contrast, conventional methods would require
periodically invoking the position determination function available
in the mobile device (such as GPS, or those based on WiFi and
cellular systems) and using the produced location fix at these
intervals for the purpose of location profile determination. This
operation would consume significant amount of precious available
mobile device battery life and as such reduces usage convenience
associated with location based services.
[0011] Other advantages of the preferred embodiments may include
one or more of the following. The system utilizes the location
profile of the mobile device user in his/her day to day life to
enhance user experience in multitude of location based or location
enhanced. It delivers the user location profile at low power
consumption, without requiring additional hardware, and by
intelligent use of hardware and technologies generally readily
available in mobile devices today.
[0012] Various aspects and embodiments of the invention are
described in further detail below.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
[0013] The present invention described herein will become apparent
from the following detailed description considered in connection
with the accompanying drawings, which disclose several embodiments
of the invention. It should be understood, however, that the
drawings are designed for the purpose of illustration and not as
limits of the invention.
[0014] FIG. 1 shows an exemplary unique signature from WiFi access
points.
[0015] FIG. 2 shows one embodiment for minimizing position fixes
intelligently.
[0016] FIG. 3 shows one embodiment for determining if a device is
stationary at low impact to power consumption.
[0017] FIG. 4 shows one embodiment for determining if device is
located within a zone using surrounding radio signature.
[0018] FIG. 5 shows an exemplary operation of a correlation
function.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0019] Various embodiments are now described with reference to the
drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like
elements throughout. In the following description, for purposes of
explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to
provide a thorough understanding of one or more embodiments. It may
be evident, however, that such embodiment(s) may be practiced
without these specific details. In other instances, well-known
structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to
facilitate describing one or more embodiments.
[0020] In the following paragraphs, the present invention will be
described in detail by way of example with reference to the
attached drawings. Throughout this description, the preferred
embodiment and examples shown should be considered as exemplars,
rather than as limitations on the present invention. As used
herein, the "present invention" refers to any one of the
embodiments of the invention described herein, and any equivalents.
Furthermore, reference to various feature(s) of the "present
invention" throughout this document does not mean that all claimed
embodiments or methods must include the referenced feature(s).
[0021] The system may be implemented in hardware, firmware or
software, or a combination of the three. Preferably the invention
is implemented in a computer program executed on a programmable
computer having a processor, a data storage system, volatile and
non-volatile memory and/or storage elements, at least one input
device and at least one output device.
[0022] FIG. 1 shows an exemplary unique signature from WiFi access
points. An exemplary signature consists of a set of unique
identifiers present within a set of signals received in a given
local area. In FIG. 1, a method uniquely associates signals
received from one or more WiFi access points to a particular zone.
In this figure, a mobile device (101) is scanning its surroundings
and is able to receive signals (104) from the 5 WiFi access points
(102) nearby. Each access point identifies itself with a unique
identifier as part of its transmission. These access points can be
received by the mobile device in a zone (103). The combination of
these unique identifiers is unique to zone (103) and forms the WiFi
access point signature for that zone. It can be used to uniquely
identify if a mobile device is placed within this zone if the
mobile device is receiving same or substantially the same signature
as the one associated with the zone.
[0023] People in everyday life tend to frequent many of the same
locations. This includes significant time spent in frequently
visited primary zones of interest such as home, work-place, or
school, among others. Other locations are frequented but less
regularly. For example, these locations can be secondary zones of
Interest such as supermarket, mall, movie theaters, gas stations,
local eateries, etc. Primary commute pattern can be determined by
repetitive observation of movement between zones. The tendency to
commute between primary zones at generally the same time-of-day may
be used as predictor of future behavior and can be used to obtain
content of interest along the commute corridors.
[0024] Reception of the same signature over multiple consecutive
scans by the mobile device may be used to indicate the device is
pseudo-stationary and confined to the same local proximity, where
signals from the same set of beacons may be heard.
[0025] In FIG. 1, mobile device (105) is only receiving signal from
one of the WiFi access points associated with zone (103), and as
such has a substantially different signature from zone (103) and
therefore is determined to be outside that zone. It is, however,
also determined that the user is near zone (103). In one
embodiment, this information may be sufficient to initiate certain
action.
[0026] The bounded area (109) is a different zone from (103) where
a mobile device (107) is receiving signals (110) including the
unique identifiers from the surrounding 4 access points (108),
different from (102). The combination of the unique identifiers
from this set of access points and the region over which their
signals can be heard uniquely identifies zone (109) as
unambiguously different from zone (103)
[0027] Zone information may be used to customize user interaction
with the handset. For example a student's phone ringer may be muted
as he/she enters school campus and re-enabled as he/she leaves.
Similarly a computer's home screen can show one set of applications
when in a home zone and another in a work zone. In another example,
the zone information can be used to ring a cell phone for certain
incoming calls in a given zone while letting other calls go to
voicemail when in a different zone such as a conference zone, among
others.
[0028] Zone knowledge is used to ensure locally relevant
information for the user based on his location profile. This
includes: [0029] Searching large information databases including
those local to the device, server based, or on the World-Wide-Web
for information relevant to the aggregate of the user's location
profile as opposed to searches centered on a single location. A
computer program, referred to, as search engine is used to perform
this function. Information founds as a result of search engine
execution is referred to as search results. [0030] Frequency of
visit and/or length of time spend in zones in the location profile
as well as categorization of the zones may optionally be used to
further prioritize search results based on proximity of the search
results to locations to the zones. [0031] Targeted advertising for
businesses and activities around the user's location profile. This
may be combined with other information known about the user
including spending habit, user's age, etc. Locations frequented and
time of travel between locations can help classify a person and its
lifestyle. [0032] Early traffic alarms on frequent routes of travel
or general location profile. This may include but not limited to
accidents, road condition alerts, speed cameras, speed radars.
[0033] Local social networking--bring people together with common
interests and overlapping or close by location profiles.
[0034] All these applications are significantly enhanced with
knowledge of the user location profile. Location profile can only
be made available if it can effectively be determined at minimal to
no additional hardware cost to the mobile device and minimal power
consumption which, in the preferred embodiment, is done by
intelligently harvesting the location profile. The system thus
delivers location profile at minimal power consumption by avoiding
frequent invocation of position determination functions and in fact
only minimally invoking them. Position determination system is a
system available in the mobile device (such as GPS, or those based
on WiFi and cellular systems) that determines geographic latitude
and longitude of the mobile device. In contrast, conventional
methods would require invoking the position determination system
available in the mobile device at periodic intervals and using the
produced position fix at these intervals for the purpose of
location profile determination. This operation would consume
significant amount of precious available mobile device battery life
and as such can be prohibitively expensive in battery life. It
should also be noted that the process of scanning surrounding area
for radio signals and receiving unique identifiers from such
signals is significantly easier and lower in power consumption than
fully communicating within a system such as WiFi and/or cellular.
It is also significantly easier and lower in power consumption than
the position determination system.
[0035] The approach described in FIG. 1 is not limited to use with
WiFi. In another embodiment, the system may use other radio systems
where broadcast points transmit unique identifiers, including
cellular. In another embodiment, combination of reception from
different radio systems, for example WiFi and cellular, may be used
as radio signature.
[0036] FIG. 2 shows one approach for minimizing position fixes
intelligently. Power efficiency is critical to efficient
implementation of location profiling in mobile devices. The act of
performing a position fix using position determination
technologies, including but not limited to, those using GNSS, WiFi,
cellular, consumes significant amount of power and as such can be
prohibitive to perform continuously. Therefore an intelligent
harvesting of position fixes is herein devised. It is first
determined if the user is moving or stationary (201). For the
purpose of determining key zones of interest to a user, it is only
necessary to consider positioning him if stationary (202). If the
user is in a zone, for which location is already known (203), the
system will consider if improved location for that zone is needed
(204). In one embodiment, this may be done by keeping track of the
position uncertainly of any given zone and deciding to attempt to
improve on the position fix if uncertainly is larger than a given
threshold. In another embodiment, the need for improved location
could also be a function of time since last position fix for that
zone.
[0037] If the system determines that a new location fix is
required, the system invokes one or more position determination
technology available in the mobile device and obtains the best
position fix and associated position uncertainty available (206).
This position fix is assigned to the zone and stored in the zone
data base for future reference (207).
[0038] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a method for determining if a
device is stationary with minimal power consumption requirements.
The system performs periodic brief observations of one or multiple
surrounding radio signal types (301). This includes but not limited
to WiFi and cellular. These uniquely identifiable radio broadcast
point are hereafter referred to as beacons. In one embodiment,
these beacons are deployed as part of a communication system and
not necessarily part of the position determination system. In
another embodiment, the system may be deployed or augmented with
beacons specifically deployed for this purpose. The radio range of
underlying technologies used for beacons determines the size of the
zone it can help monitor. The combination of received beacons at a
given observation epoch forms the radio signature at that time and
referred to as the epoch signature (302) for that epoch. In one
embodiment, the signal characteristics such as signal to noise
ratio (SNR) of each beacon may also be used as part of the
signature.
[0039] The radio signature is unique to a given area and comparison
of consecutive radio signature observations is used as determinant
of a device being on the move or being generally stationary. The
radio signature of one epoch is compared to radio signatures from
last N epochs and correlation is calculated (303). If correlation
exceeds high threshold (304), then the device is determined to be
generally stationary (306). If correlation is lower than the low
threshold (305), then it's determined to be moving (308). if the
correlation falls between high and low threshold, then this epoch
is inconclusive (307). In one embodiment, the movement status
previously determined is maintained until next epoch when a new
signature is obtained and analyzed.
[0040] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a method for determining if the
mobile device is located within a zone using the surrounding radio
signature. The radio signature based on observation of the
surrounding beacons is obtained (401) and used to identify zone the
device is in. Given the unique identifiers of the beacons, the
radio signature of each zone is unique to the general proximity of
that zone. The area attributed to the zone is a function of radio
range of beacons used. In one embodiment, other additional signal
attribute such as SNR can additionally be used as part of the
signature and can help further reduce the footprint of a zone.
[0041] If the device was previously in a zone (402), its signature
is compared to the signature of the zone it was previously in
(403). If correlation is high, the device must be in the same zone
as was in previously (405). In this case, any additional beacons
present in this epoch's radio signature and not in the zone
signature, are added to the signature for that zone and the zone
data base updated for future reference (406). If correlation is not
high, then device is no longer in the zone it was in previously. it
is said to have exited the zone and the time of exit is captured
and stored (414).
[0042] If the device was not previously in a known zone (402) or it
was determined that device had exited the zone it was previously in
(414), then if it's deemed to be stationary (415), the zone
database is searched for a zone whose beacon radio signature has
high correlation with this epoch's beacon radio signature (407). If
a high correlation zone is found (408), then the current zone for
the device is said to be in that zone (409) and time of zone entry
is captured and stored (413). By deduction, the device is located
at the location determined for the zone it's determined to be in.
Otherwise, the data base does not contain an entry whose beacon
radio signature matches this epoch's beacon radio signature. Device
must be in a new zone. A new zone entry is created in the zone data
base and a unique zone id is assigned (410). This epoch's beacon
radio signature is assigned as the new zone's beacon radio
signature (411). The device is said to be in this newly created
zone and identified by the unique zone id (412). The system also
captures the entry to a new zone and captures and stores time of
entry to the zone (413).
[0043] In one embodiment, zone entry and exit times as captured in
(413) and (414) may be used to keep track of total time spend in
each zone which in turn may be used to rank and assign priority to
zones by total time spend in each zone. In another embodiment,
frequency of zone visits may be used to rank and assign priority to
zones.
[0044] In another embodiment, repetitive order and/or time of zone
visits is used to predict future zone visit behavior. In one
embodiment, the beacon observation rate may optionally be optimized
for power by slowing down the rate or by speeding up the
observation interval to expedite zone detection response time.
[0045] In another embodiment, the beacon observation rate may be
optimized for power and adjusted utilizing low power accelerometer,
the output of which is integrated and used to determine if there
has been significant enough movement since last beacon observation.
This would be a coarse determination that the device may have moved
sufficiently enough to justify another beacon observation, or
otherwise determines that the device is in the same general
location since last beacon observation and therefore no new beacon
observation is necessary.
[0046] FIG. 5 compares different beacon signature samples and
correlates the location where those samples are taken. In each
example, two signatures are compared. In (501), signature 1 is
represented by a table of beacons (502). Signature 2 is similarly
represented by a table of beacons (503). These signatures may have
been taken by one or multiple devices at the same time or at
different times. In these tables, each entry represents a beacon
where each beacon is designated by a letter representing a unique
beacon with a unique ID. The two tables are compared against one
another and the overlap (504) is measured. This example represents
a perfect match with every entry in signature 1 (502) having a
correspondingly matching entry in Signature 2 (503). The perfect
match indicates that the two signature samples reflect same
location where all the same beacons can be heard.
[0047] Block (505) compares signatures 3 (506) and signature 4
(507), constructed as described above. The two tables are compared
against one another and the overlap (508) is measured. As
illustrated by (508), there is no overlap and no common entry
between these two signature tables and therefore there is zero
correlation between them, indicating that the two samples have been
taken at different locations.
[0048] Block (509) compares signatures 5 (510) and signature 6
(510), constructed as described above. The two tables are compares
against one another and the overlap (512) is measured. In this case
there is partial overlap measured at 3 matches and 5 mismatches (2
in signature 5 and 3 in signature 6). These two samples are
therefore taken at locations close enough to one another to receive
some of the same beacons yet far enough from one another to receive
beacons unique to only their location. In another embodiment, the
correlation may be measured as a ratio or another function using
overlap (509) and sample size of one or both of the signatures
(510) and (511). Depending on the applications, different
correlation thresholds may be used as a trigger to declare same or
different locations in these cases.
[0049] Various modifications and alterations of the invention will
become apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from
the spirit and scope of the invention, which is defined by the
accompanying claims. It should be noted that steps recited in any
method claims below do not necessarily need to be performed in the
order that they are recited. Those of ordinary skill in the art
will recognize variations in performing the steps from the order in
which they are recited. In addition, the lack of mention or
discussion of a feature, step, or component provides the basis for
claims where the absent feature or component is excluded by way of
a proviso or similar claim language.
[0050] While various embodiments of the present invention have been
described above, it should be understood that they have been
presented by way of example only, and not of limitation. Likewise,
the various diagrams may depict an example architectural or other
configuration for the invention, which is done to aid in
understanding the features and functionality that may be included
in the invention. The invention is not restricted to the
illustrated example architectures or configurations, but the
desired features may be implemented using a variety of alternative
architectures and configurations. Indeed, it will be apparent to
one of skill in the art how alternative functional, logical or
physical partitioning and configurations may be implemented to
implement the desired features of the present invention. Also, a
multitude of different constituent module names other than those
depicted herein may be applied to the various partitions.
Additionally, with regard to flow diagrams, operational
descriptions and method claims, the order in which the steps are
presented herein shall not mandate that various embodiments be
implemented to perform the recited functionality in the same order
unless the context dictates otherwise.
[0051] Terms and phrases used in this document, and variations
thereof, unless otherwise expressly stated, should be construed as
open ended as opposed to limiting. As examples of the foregoing:
the term "including" should be read as meaning "including, without
limitation" or the like; the term "example" is used to provide
exemplary instances of the item in discussion, not an exhaustive or
limiting list thereof; the terms "a" or "an" should be read as
meaning "at least one," "one or more" or the like; and adjectives
such as "conventional," "traditional," "normal," "standard,"
"known" and terms of similar meaning should not be construed as
limiting the item described to a given time period or to an item
available as of a given time, but instead should be read to
encompass conventional, traditional, normal, or standard
technologies that may be available or known now or at any time in
the future. Likewise, where this document refers to technologies
that would be apparent or known to one of ordinary skill in the
art, such technologies encompass those apparent or known to the
skilled artisan now or at any time in the future.
[0052] A group of items linked with the conjunction "and" should
not be read as requiring that each and every one of those items be
present in the grouping, but rather should be read as "and/or"
unless expressly stated otherwise. Similarly, a group of items
linked with the conjunction "or" should not be read as requiring
mutual exclusivity among that group, but rather should also be read
as "and/or" unless expressly stated otherwise. Furthermore,
although items, elements or components of the invention may be
described or claimed in the singular, the plural is contemplated to
be within the scope thereof unless limitation to the singular is
explicitly stated.
[0053] The presence of broadening words and phrases such as "one or
more," "at least," "but not limited to" or other like phrases in
some instances shall not be read to mean that the narrower case is
intended or required in instances where such broadening phrases may
be absent. The use of the term "module" does not imply that the
components or functionality described or claimed as part of the
module are all configured in a common package. Indeed, any or all
of the various components of a module, whether control logic or
other components, may be combined in a single package or separately
maintained and may further be distributed across multiple
locations.
[0054] Additionally, the various embodiments set forth herein are
described in terms of exemplary block diagrams, flow charts and
other illustrations. As will become apparent to one of ordinary
skill in the art after reading this document, the illustrated
embodiments and their various alternatives may be implemented
without confinement to the illustrated examples. For example, block
diagrams and their accompanying description should not be construed
as mandating a particular architecture or configuration.
[0055] The previous description of the disclosed embodiments is
provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the
present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will
be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic
principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments
without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.
[0056] Although the invention is described above in terms of
various exemplary embodiments and implementations, it should be
understood that the various features, aspects and functionality
described in one or more of the individual embodiments are not
limited in their applicability to the particular embodiment with
which they are described, but instead may be applied, alone or in
various combinations, to one or more of the other embodiments of
the invention, whether or not such embodiments are described and
whether or not such features are presented as being a part of a
described embodiment. Thus the breadth and scope of the present
invention should not be limited by any of the above-described
exemplary embodiments. Thus, the present invention is not intended
to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded
the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features
disclosed herein.
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